今日は、久しぶりに英語を読もうと思いました。
で、選んだのがあの難しそうな[the economist]です。
今ニュースになっている、ヤフーとマイクロソフトの記事を選び、読んでみました。
途中まで読めたが、最後の方で良くわからなくなりました。
やっぱり英語は日々勉強するべきですね。
USERS will probably not notice all that much. But the dealmay be seen one day as a significant event in the internet industry. マイクロソフト
and ヤフー
, the world’s biggest software firmand its leading online portal respectively, have reached a deal for a ten-yearweb search and advertising partnership after years of speculation about atie-up. The combination is not as far-reaching as originally envisaged. But it is likely to create a serious rival to Google
, the online giant that dominatesboth of these markets.
The agreement is supposed to help both parties overcome their most pressing problems.
The deal is the result of a long mating dance which started in earnest early in 2008. In February lastyear Microsoft made a $44.6 billion takeover bid for Yahoo!, later raising itsoffer to $47.5 billion. But Yahoo!’s management then rebuffed Microsoft,regarding the offer as undervaluing the company. Instead Yahoo! entered into anadvertising dalliance with Google, but this fell apart after antitrustauthorities signalled that they would not approve such an agreement.
Yet even for Ms Bartz the results ofthe negotiations must be somewhat disappointing. Yahoo! is said to have pushedfor a whopping upfront payment of billions of dollars for agreeingto a deal with Microsoft—but it has not succeeded. What is more, the dealapparently only covers the text ads displayed alongside search results and notother forms of online ads. And although Yahoo! will use Microsoft’s advertisingplatform, the firm will continue to sell the ads itself. This will allow it tomaintain relationships with advertisers, making it easier to sell them otherkinds of ads.
